


bittersweet and strange

by thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Jedi Rey (Star Wars), Monsters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22833484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/pseuds/thewayofthetrashcompactor
Summary: Rey has decided that she's done with waiting. If she can't have a soulmate, she's going to be the best Jedi the galaxy has ever seen, and not even Luke Skywalker is going to stop her. She'll take on a mission to defeat a monster and prove that she's as good as any of his students, despite his warnings.Of course, monsters aren't always what we expect.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28
Collections: For one is both and both are one in love: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	bittersweet and strange

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PalenDrome (nerdherderette)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdherderette/gifts).



> Palendrome: I debated on posting this because I haven't had time to write more than this first part, but this idea has stuck with me since I first read your prompts, and I'm determined to write the rest eventually. I'm hoping to hit your prompts #3, 4, and 6 (so the rating is _definitely_ going to go up XD). Thank you so much for your wonderful prompts and for being a part of the exchange and so many of the RFFA projects!

Rey turns over on her cot, pressing the thin pillow over her ears in an attempt to block over the sounds of celebration from outside. It doesn’t work. She still hears the rest of the temple out congratulating Tai and his new soulmate as they see them off. She curls further into herself and tries to cover her ears better.

It’s not that she’s not happy for Tai. She likes him, and he’s always been kind to her. He’s been here years longer than her, long enough that he helps Master Skywalker with the other students. His soulmate seems like a perfectly lovely person too, a twi’lek slightly older than him that he’d met on a mission to Ryloth. They’re heading back to the planet together, after they say their goodbyes. Ryloth is still struggling to rebuild after all the wars and invasions, and Tai decided his place was with his soulmate there. Rey knows they’ll be happy together, and they deserve it. 

But it hurts, more than she thought it would, to see Tai and his soulmate with their names written on each other, standing out clearly on the back of their necks. She’s told herself for years that she doesn’t need a soulmate, accepted that no one will come for her, whether it’s her parents or some other Force-destined other half. She knows she’s enough on her own, and she’s thrown herself into her training ever since Luke found her on Jakku and promised her a home. 

It doesn’t keep her from wanting a soulmate though, or wondering what it might be like to have someone who understands her better than anyone else in the universe. She has friends here, and she knows she’s lucky. But even the person she’s closest too, Finn, has his own soulmate, someone he found in Senator Organa’s staff, though he’s chosen to stay and complete his training. She tries to be the best Jedi she can, above all that, and then things like this happen and she’s reminded all over again about what she’ll never have. 

That Tai had returned with his good news just on the heel of another disappointment doesn’t help. She’d thought she’d been excelling in her studies and proved to Master Skywalker that she was ready to go out into the galaxy on her own, like his older students do. By her calculations, she’s been at the temple for nearly fifteen years, longer than most of the other students. She’s satisfied with her home in the temple, but she knows there’s more to the galaxy, more than the glimpses of planets she’s visited on missions with Master Skywalker or Hennix and Voe. But when she’d volunteered for a mission that had come to the temple, Master Skywalker had practically yanked the datapad she’d been reading out of her hands. Her face burns just remembering the conversation.

_“Not that one,” he grunted, tucking the datapad against his side, away from her._

_She gaped, unused to Master Skywalker being so abrupt. “Why not?” she asked when she recovered her voice. “These people need help, and I can help them.”_

_“It’s too dangerous.” He didn’t look at her, pretending to be engrossed in another datapad._

_She scoffed. “They said a monster was attacking them. It’s probably some native creature that moved habitats. I can help them, Master Luke, I’m ready.”_

_He finally turned towards her, levelling her with his piercing blue gaze. “Rey. I said no.” He goes back to his datapad. “Why don’t you practice your mediation?”_

_She left the room fuming._

Rey turns over again, the knot of anger she’d felt then returning. If she can’t prove herself as a Jedi, what does she have left? She can handle something as simple as taming a local monster, no matter what Master Skywalker thinks. 

She sits up in bed, a thought occurred to her. Outside, the noise from the rest of the temple has died off. Tai must have left, and the other students likely wandered off to their own beds. She hears a few of them still walking around and waits, heart pounding. 

She’s always had a good memory, and she recalls the coordinates given in the message the city had sent to the temple clearly. She’s a good pilot too, even if staying at the temple doesn’t give her as much practice as she’d like. Master Skywalker would be furious if she took a ship on her own, but if she came back with the mission completed, could he really complain? Probably, but she would’ve proven that she’s not as weak as he thinks she is. She could put up with a couple weeks of chores to have the chance to go out on her own in the future. 

Rey sits quietly until silence falls outside of her room. Her heart beats quickly the whole time, and she repeats her plan over and over to herself in her head. Finally, she stands, stretching to get blood flowing back to her muscles, and peeks out her door. 

The grounds around the temple are empty. A few lights flicker in the other students’ huts, but not many. She can’t bear to sit still any longer. She gathers a bag with everything she’ll need for a few days: some changes of clothes, her comm, and a small set of tools. She dresses and clips her saber to her belt. Taking a deep breath, she swings her pack over her shoulders and slips out of her hut. 

She doesn’t pass anyone on her path to the kitchens, where she gathers handfuls of meal bars to last her through her trip. Hopefully she can find food on the planet, but she knows better than to count on that. When she thinks she has enough, she adds a few more, then closes her pack again. 

Now for the delicate part. She makes her way out to where the temple’s few ships sit on the edge of the grounds. She decides on an older shuttle, one that doesn’t get much use, especially as it’s barely big enough for two people. With another glance around to make sure she’s still alone, she reaches out a hand to the door. It takes a few seconds with the Force before it opens for her. She grins. Her skill with mechanics hasn’t let her down yet. She climbs inside and quickly closes the door behind her. A few steps takes her up to the cockpit, where she drops her pack and gets to work on the console. 

The ship responds to her easily, and she verifies that it has a working hyperdrive and enough fuel to get her to her destination and back. Steeling her resolve, she starts the ship, hands clutched around the controls. As soon as the engine is online, she takes off, sweeping up into the clouds and away from the temple before anyone below can notice what’s happening. 

She grins once she breaks out of the atmosphere and the planet slowly grows smaller behind her. She should have done this years ago. She programs the coordinates she’s memorized into the hyperdrive and sits back as the stars blur around her. She’ll defeat the monster and return before anyone even notices she’s gone. 


End file.
